Manager Sir Alex Ferguson explained the decision to leave Rooney on the bench as a tactical one, and the move certainly looked like paying off as United led 1-0 on the night before Nani's red card allowed Real to overturn their hosts and progress into the quarter-finals.

Stoke City striker Owen, who has played alongside Rooney for United and England, believes that only a handful of clubs in Europe would be able to take on one of Europe's highest-paid players and satisfy his ambitions should United decide to sell him.

"Sometimes when you're at the level he is at you don't have many options," Owen told talkSPORT. "If you're a mediocre player you have 20 teams in England and aboard that you can move to.